Anti-Corruption Bill Earns Support From Rep. Katie Porter and O.C. Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento
(HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA) – Last Friday, Senator Dave Min (D-Irvine) held a press conference and was joined by Congresswoman Katie Porter and Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento in support of Senate Bill (SB) 1111. Designed to enhance the State’s anti-corruption laws, Senator Min’s bill expands the Political Reform Act to require local government officials to disclose when public contracts are being awarded to organizations in which their adult children have a significant interest and to abstain from voting on these contracts, establishing stiff penalties for those who violate the law.
SB 1111 is set to be heard in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations in the next few weeks, an important legislative hurdle before it can be voted on by the full Assembly. Approval on the Assembly Floor moves SB 1111 one step closer for consideration by the Governor.
"Public corruption is unacceptable. Full stop," said Senator Dave Min. "And elected officials steering contracts to their adult children-- whether it's the President of the United States or a local county official-- is a particularly pernicious form of public corruption that cheats our taxpayers and erodes public trust in our government. SB 1111 addresses this problem in an appropriate way, by levying significant penalties-- including jail time-- when government officials vote to award contracts to their adult children and fail to disclose the relationship. I am grateful to Congresswoman Katie Porter and Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento for their strong support for SB 1111, as well as their shared commitment to rebuilding public trust and confidence in our government at all levels.”
“Californians deserve no less than honest, transparent work from their government leaders, but sadly, political leaders getting caught steering public funds to themselves and their family members is nothing new—including here in Orange County,” said Congresswoman Katie Porter. “I’ve worked in Congress to prevent federal leaders from profiting off their positions of power, and I commend Senator Min for his bill here in California that would do the same. We need more leaders like Dave at all levels of government—leaders we can trust to put the public interest above their own self-interests, leaders with integrity who cannot be bought, and leaders who will always fight for what’s right.”
“Elected officials have a sacred trust from the voters. This legislation, although diluted in committee, would help remedy a long-standing oversight in addressing personal or familial enrichment in the awarding of government contracts. We must ensure our communities know that taxpayer dollars are spent only for public benefit. I support this much needed legislation that increases transparency and accountability and helps us avoid even the appearance of impropriety in contracting,” said Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento, Second District.
Senator Min introduced SB 1111 after news reports uncovered that an Orange County Supervisor voted to award multi-million dollar contracts to an organization run by his daughter. A total of $13.5 million in county contracts, including $9.4 million in COVID-19 relief funding, was granted without disclosing the Supervisor’s family connection to the public. Despite the clear conflict of interest, existing state law does not forbid elected officials from awarding public contracts to their adult children.
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